Is there anywhere I can find advice or guidance for nurseries in regarding appropriate naps for babies?

This brings back memories!

OK. When you next drop your son off, tell them again what you expect and when they say "We will try" say "No, you will do as I ask, I am paying you to do what I wish and I wish for my son to go down for his naps at (time) for (length of time). You do NOT bring his cot into the play area, you leave it in the sleep area where he can sleep.

If you are not able to provide the service I expect and pay for, I will find somebody who is able to. I have put my demands in writing for you to follow so there is NO confusion".

By the way, what do they do to the other children when they want to sleep? Pull them out of the sleep room so they can watch the other children or do they miraculously go down at the same time? I doubt that so if they are able to do that in the afternoon then they are able to do it to your son in the morning.

Also, it seems that they are short of staff if they are not able to have somebody in the sleep room with him. By law they are required to have a ratio of staff / child for specific age groups. Find out what this is and check to see if they are complying.

If the child care is part of the council, contact them and complain in writing about your problems and they are obliged to sort the problem out.

When you have the next meeting with the Manager, ask them why your requests are being ignored and what the problems are. There is NO reason why your son is not allowed his sleep and I can't help wonder what else he's losing out on.

If this fails, maybe you would be better of looking for a child minder.

Good luck and hope this helps.

Is your child happy and smiling when he gets home from the nursery or does he seem grumpy and tired? If he seems like he's grumpy and tired put it in writing about the naps or find alternative childcare what about a registered childminder in their home or yours.

If he's happy and smiling the rest of the day maybe he can manage ok without the nap, my little one is now 18 months, he is only looked after by family 2 days a week but he's always had different routine when he isn't looked after in our house, when he was smaller he'd take an hour nap at 10ish then half an hour around three but if he was at a relatives house he'd skip the morning nap all together, it never affected him he's the happiest smiliest little boy you could ever meet, just if there's too much going on, even if you take him into a quiet room he won't sleep because he doesn't want to miss anything. I don't think a strict routine needs to be followed as long as baby is happy, he's never slept the amount of hours (day or night) that he was meant to 'at that age', always way less, but he just doesn't seem to need it and is never grumpy so I haven't found it to be an issue.

Also how many days a week is he at nursery, if he's at nursery 5 days so there most of the week maybe less sleep during the day is a normal routine for him, all babies are different, I'm not criticising or anything just trying to give different ideas...

I work in a private day care and we follow the child's routine not make the baby follow ours, we like to keep the children's routines as close as possible to the 1 they have at home. To me it seems they may just being trying to make life easier for themselves, I understand that sometimes children are so busy and into everything that they do not want to sleep but that doesn't normally happen till they are around 12/14months. At his age he needs his kip!

I would right an official letter to the management clearly outlining your complaints.

Good luck x

I have been a mom for 29 years to 4 plus I have provided child care in my home for 21 years. It is very normal and quite common for children to have different schedules at daycare than they do at home yet still thrive well. Not all babies require 2 naps and even if your son does nap twice at home, it may be perfectly normal for him to do well on just one nap at his daycare. Most babies sleep at home either in a room by themselves or in mom and dad's room. Either way, it is typically free of the distraction of having other children in the vicinity. At daycare, it is typical for the first few weeks to be a time of adjustment on many different levels with sleep and eating schedules being the most likely to suffer. As a home child care provider, it is easier for me to meet individual sleep needs of the children in my care, but most of the child care centers I am familiar with have a nap schedule that only has a little room for flexibility mostly due to staffing and supervision needs. All licensed facilities must meet child to adult ratios and it is likely your center does not have additional staffing to supervise one child in the sleep area without leaving an inadequate amount of supervision in the play area. You may consider that your son's sleep requirements are changing and he will naturally be outgrowing his 2 nap schedule soon. It is very common for 2 naps to become 1 around the 9-12 month age. Certainly sleep is fundamental to the care of every child, but it is also important to meet the safety requirements of the supervision of all the children. If your care facility has a younger infant room than perhaps your son would do better in that setting until you feel his need for 2 naps has subsided. As a care provider, I understand a parents desire for their children to have appropriate care, but I also feel that parents also need to have a certain level of trust and respect for the experience and competency of the person(s) caring for their child. If that trust and respect is not there or is not developing than finding another care option is generally best for the child as well as for the parents and the care providers. A parent who consistently complains is not pleasant to deal with and finding other suitable care generally makes everyone happier. Perhaps you need to consider an in-home care provider or perhaps a nanny who comes to your home. A child care center is not always the best option for every family. There are pros and cons to every care arrangement, nothing is perfect so you'll have to decide if this sleep issue is worth fretting over, especially when your son will likely naturally transition to 1 nap per day within a few months.

Wow - I was just thinking (worrying) about this! My baby starts nursery soon and I am worried that she won't get her naps. I'll be watching this page with interest!